"but just one drop of Nitric acid on your arm and you ARE going to the emergency room"
I use Lab grade Hydrochloric, Nitric and Sulfuric acids as well as hi-grade Sodium Hydroxide. They are in my truck and are used to preserve samples that I take day in and day out.
Nitric turns your skin yellow. It will leave a surface scar if a sudden gust of wind should say, blow over the container the acid is in, onto your forearm, and you don't bother rinsing it off. Get some water and rinse.
Now Sulfuric, well that will go through your jeans as fast as that goop from the 'Alien' movie went throught the decks of the spaceship.
and light up everything it touches. Does not do a very good job of taking off scale either. Doesn't bother paint too much though.
HCL is my favorite for rapid scale removal. I use it the most on the job and in smithing. I like it the least overall though. First problem is the release of chlorine, man, that is rough! Ventilation for this stuff should involve moving air and not just a big room or outside. Second, it chews on you as bad as sulfuric does. Definitely should use some glove here. Now muriatic is a watered down (dilute solution) of I believe anywhere from 10-20 percent HCL . potent stuff and straight from the jug at about 20% is very quick scale removal.
Eye protection is a biggy and remembering to not wipe your face or eyes till you have washed your hands is important as well. your lungs are the most at risk with any of these chemicals, but HCL is the worst IMO.
Ammonia, this is highly reactive with every thing! I am not allowed to bring it into the shop for nothing! I stripped our halway one time prepping for fresh wax and the lab manager was very agitated.
seems that they had to go back and rerun a dozen or so samples that didn't play well with ammonia. I would like to know what exactly it will help you with in terms of these other chemicals. I don't get to mess with it much.